North Liberal Democrats

Ward Boundary Proposals

5 September 2016

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Table of Contents Introduction ...... 3 Proposed wards ...... 4 Coastal wards ...... 4 1. Heath ...... 4 2. Runtons ...... 4 3. Poppyland ...... 5 4. ...... 5 5. Bacton ...... 5 6. ...... 6 Broads ...... 7 7. ...... 7 8. Broads ...... 7 9. Waterside ...... 7 Market Towns ...... 9 10. ...... 9 11. Holt ...... 9 12. ...... 9 13. and Sutton ...... 11 Coastal Towns ...... 12 14. Wells ...... 12 15. ...... 12 16. ...... 13 Rural wards ...... 14 17. Raynham Ward ...... 14 18. ...... 14 19. ...... 15 20. Astley ...... 16 21. ...... 16 22. ...... 16 23. Chaucer ...... 17 24. ...... 18 25. Market ...... 18 26. ...... 18 27. ...... 19 Proposed ward map ...... 20

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Introduction

The District of spans a diverse ribbon of countryside running nearly 50 miles from in the West to Horsey in the East. It encompasses inland market towns like North Walsham and Fakenham, coastal tourist towns like Wells and Cromer, and several very rural parishes with less than 100 electors. And to the North it is edged by a coastline that is receding in the West and eroding (rapidly in places) to the East.

In seeking to reduce the number of councillors across the District by nearly 20%, the challenges should not be underestimated of ensuring that councillors each represent wards that are logical, and that are also capable of being represented effectively by councillors who may also have working or caring commitments.

The proposed warding arrangements in this report aim to group parishes into areas that are geographically coherent, with similar local issues and representational priorities.

As far as possible, coastal parishes are placed into wards with other coastal parishes to create a group of councillors with a strong interest in championing coastal issues across the District.

In each of the towns across the District a single ward (with one or two members) is proposed to encompass the whole town centre so that the unique challenges facing businesses and consumers in each town can be tackled in a joined-up way. Certain wards in many of the towns also include surrounding parishes, many of which have close and important links with their local socio-economic hub and stand to benefit from an approach to representation which understands the symbiotic relationship between towns and their hinterland.

In general, the most rural parishes are grouped together. This creates a number of very large rural wards, and the councillors representing those wards will face substantial additional time commitments in liaising with the large number of separate parishes and community groups in their wards. However, the benefits of ensuring dedicated champions for rural North Norfolk are considered to outweigh the practical disadvantages of such wards.

With one exception, town polling district boundaries have been devised using an assumption that the level of growth projected for that town will be evenly spread across the urban centre. This has been necessitated by the failure of Council Officers to provide the necessary information to enable a more precise approach to be taken but is not generally considered to be an unrealistic representation of the anticipated pattern of development in the relevant towns. In North Walsham, all of the projected growth has been located in West Ward, which is considered an accurate representation of where the bulk of projected growth will fall.

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Proposed wards

Coastal wards

1. Heath

Blakeney 627 Weybourne 451 Cley 365 182 154 129 109 74

Total = 2091 (96% of target)

The stretch of coastline between Wells and Sheringham has much in common. Each of the villages has a similar architectural vernacular, landscape and natural habitats, and each benefits from similar conservation protections. They also face similar pressures on issues like second home ownership (and the associated development), access to services, transport, and communications infrastructure.

The boundary of this ward would mirror very closely the boundary of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Additionally, the parishes along this stretch of coast possess some of the most valuable and imposing churches in the District, a relic of an earlier time when many of the villages had substantial commercial harbours. This would enable the councillor for this ward to ensure that the complex conservation concerns of the area are given the emphasis they need. 2. Runtons

Aylmerton 380 159 The Runtons 1432

Total = 1971 (90% of target)

The Runtons, and Felbrigg are joined together by their geological and historical links. The main A148 runs through all three parishes and they come together at the Felbrigg road junction which is shortly to receive infrastructure investment in the form of a new roundabout, to better manage the traffic between these parishes.

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Runton values its distinct character, and residents are strongly opposed to changes which would reduce its independence from the nearby towns of Cromer and Sheringham. In this respect, it would not comfortably sit in the same ward as , which lacks any clearly-defined boundary with Sheringham and thus relates much more closely to the town.

The boundary of this ward would mirror very closely the boundary of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which incorporates the vast majority of each parish, but very little of the parishes to the south. This would enable the councillor for this ward to ensure that the complex conservation concerns of the area are given the emphasis they need. 3. Poppyland

Northrepps 869 958 80 300

Total = 2207 (101% of target)

The parishes between Cromer and Mundesley have similar characteristics – soft gradually-receding cliffs, unspoiled (mostly arable) farmland, and village centres that are more evenly balanced between the demands of tourism and of local residents than is perhaps the case in the West of the District.

While the residential centre of Overstrand is not categorised as part of the Norfolk Coast AONB, the rural part of the parish does fall within the AONB, as do the other parishes in this ward. This would enable the councillor for this ward to ensure that the complex conservation concerns of the area are given the emphasis they need. 4. Mundesley

Mundesley 2,367

Total = 2367 (108% of target)

Mundesley is a substantial village with a strong sense of identity, well-established community groups, and a picturesque shopping centre. Numerically it is of an appropriate size to be represented by a single member, and there would be no benefit in combining Mundesley with other surrounding villages (many of which face quite different issues) in order to create a two-member ward. 5. Bacton

Bacton 999 Walcott 568 Paston 196

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Witton 278

Total = 2041 (93% of target)

Bacton is home to one of the UK’s most important energy infrastructure sites, the North Sea gas pipeline terminus. As well as providing an important source of local employment, the site also presents unique, complex, and pressing issues of coastal management which affect not just Bacton but also the surrounding parishes, in particular Walcott. It is imperative that these coastal villages are kept within a single ward to promote an approach to championing these coastal issues that is as coherent and effective as possible. 6. Happisburgh

Happisburgh 668 Horsey 70 507 460 426

Total = 2131 (97% of target)

The parishes along this stretch of coastline face some of the most pressing challenges in terms of coastline management and erosion of any part of the North Norfolk Coast, with North Norfolk District Council’s Pathfinder strategy for managing coastal change in the Parish attracting the very highest levels of Central Government interest. It is imperative that these coastal villages are kept within a single ward to promote an approach to championing these coastal issues that is as coherent and effective as possible.

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Broads 7. Hoveton

Neatishead 474 Hoveton 1,827

Total = 2301 (105% of target)

Hoveton and are both Broads villages with similar challenges in balancing conservation and navigation concerns alongside issues like planning, environmental management and tourism. The drive from one village to the other is short, with no intervening unbridged waterways, meaning that the two communities might sensibly be represented by a single councillor. 8. Broads

Barton Turf 404 947 1,098

Total = 2449 (112% of target)

The villages of Horning and Ludham are linked together not just by the A1062 – one of the few “A” roads crossing this sensitive part of the broads, but also by the Bure and the Thurne. The River Ant, meanwhile links both parishes to the village of Neatishead, which has been warded together with Horning for many years. Encompassing the heart of the “Three Rivers” area of the North Norfolk Broads, this ward would enable a single councillor to champion in a coherent way the issues of conservation and navigation that are so important to the Broads economy and way of life.

The natural boundaries presented by the geography and conservation restrictions of the Broads present a hard limit on future development in these villages, meaning that the relatively oversized nature of this ward is considered to be more acceptable than it might be in other circumstances. 9. Waterside

Catfield 777 Hickling 831 898

Total = 2506 (115% of target)

Catfield, Hickling and Potter Heigham are similar-sized Broads villages, linked by the A149 running from Stalham to Yarmouth. They have traditionally been warded

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together, with similar landscape and issues relating to the built environment, and keeping this grouping is considered to promote effective and convenient local government.

The natural boundaries presented by the geography and conservation restrictions of the Broads present a hard limit on future development in these villages, meaning that the relatively oversized nature of this ward is considered to be more acceptable than it might be in other circumstances.

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Market Towns 10. Fakenham

Fakenham relates closely to the village of which, as a consequence of gradual development, is divided by only a minimal physical boundary from the Town and thus it is proposed that whatever ward pattern is decided upon for Fakenham, one of the wards should also incorporate the village of Hempton.

As with other towns in the District, the historic town centre should be retained intact within a single ward also encompassing the historic parish church, supermarkets, and schools. 11. Holt

Holt North 2145

Holt South 1346 Letheringsett 196 168 477

Holt North – Total = 2145 (98% of target) Holt South – Total = 2187 (100% of target)

The A148 forms a natural boundary in Holt, dividing the historic town centre, services, and predominantly older areas of housing in the North from a substantial and more modern housing estate to the south, with the only safe pedestrian access between the two halves of the town achieved via an underpass spanning the A148.

In recognition of this natural boundary, and the different characteristics of the two halves of the town, there is a strong case to be made for dividing Holt into two separate single-member wards. The North ward would be of sufficient size without any rural polling districts being included. The South Ward might naturally be combined with High Kelling and Letheringsett – both of which are close to Holt, but (like the proposed South Holt polling district) separated from it by intervening roads. Many residents in High Kelling, Letheringsett, and Thornage will either work in Holt or visit the town regularly to access services including the medical practice and will share many of the same concerns as residents in Holt South.

12. North Walsham

North Walsham North 785 326 239

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NW North 2972

Total = 4322 (two member) (99% of total)

• North Ward (two-member ward) would include the remainder of the town to the east of the bypass, together with the villages of Trunch, Knapton and Swafield nearby to the North. Each of these villages has close ties with the town, which is an important economic hub. Many residents of these villages will travel into North Walsham to work, to access local services, and to shop. This fact is already recognised in provisions which allow the residents of any parishes within 3 miles of the town to stand for North Walsham Town Council elections. Further integrating these villages into North Walsham’s systems of democratic representation will help make sure that the issues affecting North Walsham and the surrounding area can be dealt with in an intelligent and outward-looking way.

North Walsham West 473 Suffield 170 300 NW West 3262

Total = 4205 (two member) (96% of total)

• West ward (two-member ward) would combine all of the town to the west of the bypass (an area which is set to benefit from substantial new development) with the parishes of Felmingham, Suffield, and Antingham. As with the proposed North Walsham North ward, this arrangement ties North Walsham more closely with those villages that already interact closely with the town both economically and socially and could yield representational benefits both for the town and for the villages.

North Walsham Town NW Town 4364

Total = 4364 (two member) (100% of target)

• Town ward (two-member ward) would be an entirely “urban” ward, encompassing the whole of the historic town centre as well as residential areas to the South and East. The Bypass forms a natural boundary to the south-west, and Marshgate, Melbourne Road, Bacton Road, Crow Road, Mundesley Road and Cromer Road approximately represent the edge of the town centre to the North. This ward would meet almost precisely the numerical criteria, and ensure that the complex District Council issues facing the centre of the town – planning, parking, and the importance of supporting town-centre businesses – could be dealt with coherently within a single ward.

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13. Stalham and Sutton

Stalham 2,868 Ingham 318 57 Sutton 934

Total = 4177 (2 member ward) (95% of target)

Stalham is an old market town which, despite its proximity to the sea, identifies itself with the navigation of the Ant and the villages of the Broads. It is traditionally warded with Sutton and there is no natural boundary between Sutton and Stalham. Brumstead and Ingham are small satellite villages, each of which lies within two miles of Stalham. They form a compact arc to the north and east of the market town. This disposition would therefore create a well-defined ward, convenient in terms of governance, lying neatly between the A149 to the west of Stalham and the more coastal parishes to the east.

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Coastal Towns 14. Wells

Warham 169 Holkham 177 Wells 2,085

Total = 2431 (111% of target)

The town of Wells plays an increasingly significant role in North Norfolk’s tourism and offshore energy economies, with a busy harbour and beach and bustling shopping centre. The issues facing Wells are quite different from those facing most of the villages to the south of the Town.

The exceptions to that rule are Holkham and, to a lesser extent, Warham. Wells has historic and important links with the Holkham Estate: the Estate is a major landowner in and around the Town and runs (amongst other things) a caravan site, café/shop and car park in Wells – all of which are important to the Town’s tourism industry. As such there is a clear benefit in both Holkham and Wells being represented by a single councillor.

Warham might reasonably be added to the ward. Warham too has strong links with the Holkham Estate and therefore has more naturally in common with Wells than do other villages in the area. The inclusion of Warham also makes sense in the context of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which includes Holkham, Wells and Warham in full but only limited parts of the parishes to the south.

15. Sheringham

Sheringham North – Total = 2196 (100% of target) Sheringham South (two member) – Total = 4330 (98% of target)

The railway line forms a natural dividing line in Sheringham between the tourist centre to the North and the predominantly residential area to the South (which also contains schools, community centre, Health Centre, police station, and fire station).

The railway line might therefore be used as the boundary between a single-member “Sheringham Town” ward and a two-member “Sheringham South” ward. However, the area between Church Street and Beeston Road should also be included in the “Town” ward down to the A148, to ensure that this important part of the tourist centre (including shops, the car park, and Tesco Supermarket) fall within the Town Ward, to which they would naturally belong. This deviation from using the railway line as the boundary also has the benefit of achieving a numerically more balanced representation across the Town.

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16. Cromer

Cromer Town – Total = 2345 (107%) Suffield Park (two member) – Total = 4399 (101%)

• Cromer Town – everything to the West of Hall Road, together with the town centre North of Louden Road, Mount Street, and Church Street up to the junction with the Overstrand Road. North Lodge Park should also be included in the geographical area of Cromer Town Ward given its integral significance to the Town Centre and promenade. • Suffield Park – everything else

Cromer has been described as the “jewel in the crown” in North Norfolk, and its historic town centre hosts tens of thousands of visitors each week at the height of the tourist season. The historic brick-paved streets and landscaped promenades, architectural heritage, and award winning pier are iconic, and bring with them complex and sensitive issues in areas of District Council responsibility including planning, parking, and environmental management.

There is a strong case for including as much of the historic centre, West promenade, and Edwardian residential streets as possible in a single-member “Cromer Town” ward, with a councillor dedicated to the interconnected issues affecting the Town’s tourist centre.

The remainder of the Town, composed largely of more modern housing development, schools and a Hospital have their own shared issues and naturally form a two-member “Suffield Park” ward edged by Hall Road, Louden Road, and Mount Street.

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Rural wards

The overriding approach that has been taken in developing numerically appropriate ward patterns in the most rural parts of the District is (1) to limit disruption to existing patterns of representation, and to group together wards that are (2) close together and (3) cover areas of similar economic and aesthetic character.

Many of the wards that will be created in the most rural parts of the District encompass a large number of very small parishes. This will require the conscientious councillor to attend large numbers of parish council meetings on a regular basis, and to interact with other community groups including parochial church councils, village hall charities, and recreational groups. In many cases councillors will have developed good working relationships with communities over many years, and unnecessary disruption to existing patterns of representation will have a substantial and damaging impact on the effectiveness of democratic representation in those areas.

The practical consequence of the expansion in rural ward sizes necessitated by a decrease in council size is to increase (sometimes significantly) the travel time necessary for councillors to visit different parishes within their wards to look at sites of planning applications, and meet with local residents. Transport links can be very poor in places, and there is therefore an obvious benefit in grouping together parishes that follow natural routes of travel.

Finally, there is significant variation in the character both of Norfolk’s countryside and of the villages themselves. So much of the work of a District Councillor relates to the built and natural environment, and better representation can be achieved by ensuring that coherent areas of landscape can be dealt with coherently. 17. Raynham Ward

Dunton 94 307 Raynham 414 Sculthorpe 593 765

Total = 2173 (99% of target)

The parishes in this ward all fall to the south-west of Fakenham, and are accessed from the rest of North Norfolk via Fakenham itself (following the line of the A148). Most of the parishes in this ward have historically been grouped together and thus the proposed ward achieves maximal continuity in patterns of representation. 18. Ryburgh

Pudding Norton 217

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Ryburgh 546 178 Gunthorpe 220 129 544 165 Barsham 199

Total = 2198 (100% of target)

This ward encompasses those parishes forming a band around the north-east of Fakenham and out along the A148, all of which have a similar relationship with the town both economically and socially. The villages are of a similar character – small, highly-rural communities with their roots in farming, but which now also house both retired people and commuting families. Villages have a similar architectural vernacular, with buildings typically constructed out of red brick and Norfolk pantiles, with some use of flint. 19. Walsingham

Walsingham 696 212 255 Langham 317 399 Brinton 195 242

Total = 2316 (106% of target)

This ward comprises a group of parishes within the triangle between the towns of Wells, Holt, and Fakenham. The villages are well-connected by local roads while generally avoiding the direct impact of the busy tourist season that drives much of the economies of Wells, Holt, and the coastal parishes. Many of these parishes have some affordable housing and – unusually for their relatively small size – three of the parishes have their own village school, a reflection of the relatively high numbers of working families living in many of these parishes.

The key population centre of the ward is the shrine of Walsingham, which brings with it particular challenges in managing both the unique conservation issues of this internationally-treasured site and the logistical challenges of accommodating substantial visitor flows from pilgrims and tourists at certain times of the year. Walsingham relates closely to nearby Wighton and Hindringham. Binham, meanwhile, with its medieval Priory, faces many similar conservation and heritage issues.

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20. Astley

Stibbard 288 380 121 450 Thurning 72 446 203 Wood Norton 194

Total = 2154 (98% of target)

This ward closely follows the existing Astley Ward – achieving a continuity which will be important in promoting effective representation in a ward spanning a substantial number of very small rural parishes. Melton Constable is a natural socio-economic centre for parishes in this part of North Norfolk, and many issues of development, parking and licensing within Melton Constable will have a direct impact on residents of other parishes in this ward. 21. Briston

Briston 2,062

Total = 2062 (94% of target)

Briston is a large rural service village, dominated by relatively low cost or affordable housing, and occupied predominantly by those who commute either to nearby North Norfolk towns or to . The ward is modestly undersized containing only Briston itself, but there is no single neighbouring parish which would form a natural pair for Briston as part of a ward, and better representation both for Briston and its neighbours is therefore achieved by keeping Briston as a discrete ward in its own right. 22. Corpusty

Stody 169 Edgefield 328 Hempstead 142 Corpusty 613 182 395 106 Plumstead 114

Total = 2049 (94% of target)

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This ward largely follows the southern part of the Cromer Ridge, an important feature of North Norfolk’s geology and landscape, constituting parishes to the south- east of the Glaven Valley and moving towards Beeston Regis. In the recent past, the relatively elevated nature of the terrain has made this area a target for the potential development of wind energy, requiring a sophisticated understanding of landscape and heritage issues across the area for a councillor to respond effectively to these proposals.

The ward, as has been the intention with other highly rural wards, largely follows the pattern of the existing Corpusty Ward, promoting more effective representation in an area that might otherwise prove unmanageable as a consequence of the large area covered and the number of separate parish councils and community organisations with which a councillor would need to build effective working relationships. 23. Chaucer

East Beckham 36 201 Gresham 342 131 186 Beeston Regis 868 227

Total = 1991 (91% of target)

The ward, as has been the intention with other highly rural wards, largely follows the pattern of the existing Chaucer Ward, promoting more effective representation in an area that might otherwise prove unmanageable as a consequence of the large area covered and the number of separate parish councils and community organisations with which a councillor would need to build effective working relationships.

Upper Sheringham and Beeston Regis both form a part of the Norfolk Coast AONB, and therefore benefit from being grouped together within a single ward so that conservation and landscape issues can be dealt with coherently in the countryside to the south of Sheringham including Sheringham Park itself and the medieval priory at Beeston. Further inland, the Ward includes parishes of a highly rural character, sparsely populated and dominated by agriculture.

This ward largely follows the northern part of the Cromer Ridge, an important feature of North Norfolk’s geology and landscape, constituting parishes to the south- east of the Glaven Valley and moving towards Beeston Regis. In the recent past, the relatively elevated nature of the terrain has made this area a target for the potential development of wind energy, requiring a sophisticated understanding of landscape and heritage issues across the area for a councillor to respond effectively to these proposals.

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24. Erpingham

Itteringham 106 116 Alby 207 Aldborough 469 Erpingham 520 Hanworth 139 91 Colby 411

Total = 2059 (94% of target)

This ward constitutes a number of highly rural inland villages, relatively close in proximity and with common interests – in particular in relation to North Walsham and Aylsham. The annual Ingworth Trosh provides a social focal point for many of the surrounding villages and helps link the communities together. 25. Market

Gimingham 392 Roughton 793 744 264

Total = 2193 (100% of target)

These four villages span the route of the A149 and B1436, which together constitute the key spine road linking Sheringham and Cromer with North Walsham and the east of the District.

Set in from the coast and falling between Cromer and North Walsham, each of the parishes has a similar relationship with the economic centres in this part of the District and consequently they share a number of common interests. 26. Worstead

Honing 271 281 Westwick 87 Worstead 759 183 374

Total = 1955 (89% of target)

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This ward constitutes a number of highly rural inland villages, relatively close in proximity and with common interests – in particular in relation to North Walsham and Aylsham. These historic wool villages have a long shared economic and social heritage, and thus a sense of common identity. 27. Smallburgh

Smallburgh 437 Ashmanaugh 150 775 221 Tunstead 588

Total = 2171 (99% of target)

This ward constitutes a number of highly rural inland villages, relatively close in proximity and with common interests – in particular in relation to North Walsham and Aylsham.

The housing in Badersfield (within Scottow Parish) on the old RAF site forms a natural population and social centre for this area, and the planned growth in employment development on the old airbase in the coming years is likely to mean that Badersfield’s significance across this ward will grow exponentially, forming an growing sense of common identity.

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Proposed ward map

17 14 10 18 19 20 ot ofl adBoundaries Ward Norfolk North 1 11 21 06LbrlDmca proposals Democrat Liberal 2016 22 15 23 24 2 16 25 3 12 26 27 4 7 5 8 13 9 6

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.

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